Life is Good

On Friday, Dan and I got the keys to our rental. Since our house has not sold in the city, and we haven’t found anything to purchase in Parry Sound, we decided to find a rental to bridge our accommodations temporarily. 

We really lucked out and found a 4 bedroom home right in the town of Parry Sound, with a fenced in yard for the pugs. The house is currently for sale, but since the market is slow – we were able to rent it on a month to month basis. This is great for us since we didn't want to sign a lease and be committed to anything for the long term. The place is pretty sweet, asides from being right near train tracks (which everything seems to be in Parry Sound), it is totally furnished and all we needed to bring were our consumables and linens.

Monday Morning - Yoga Post-Run

The pugs are enjoying the new scenery. They really seem to love the backyard and want to spend their entire day out there. We have sliding doors which lead from the kitchen to the backyard, so I can blog and supervise the pugs at the same time.

Our weekend was pretty relaxed, for the first time in a long time Dan and I didn't have anything on our schedule. If I were in the city, I’d be finding so many things to do around the house or would have kept myself busy packing. It’s been three months since Dan and I lived together, so it was nice to connect again and not have to worry about only having a weekend to spend together.

Saturday we spent most of our time cleaning our rental, and picking up some supplies we needed. Afterwards, since my mind was so clear of thoughts and my place was tidy, I finally had free time to have a leisurely run.

Running since the marathon has been an ongoing battle for me. It’s been 9 months since the marathon and I haven’t fully committed to a running schedule. I've found every excuse in the book to not get out there. The past couple of weeks I've finally rekindled my passion – stayed tuned for a blog post on returning to running after a break.

On Sunday Dan and I went for a walk to enjoy the scenery. We live 5 minutes away from a marina and they have seaplanes there that take off throughout the day. We just sat and watched for an hour or so. This whole place is so leisurely and relaxed. It’s been awhile since I really kicked back and enjoyed the sights like I did last night. This mindset is really hard to get to, and I’m glad I am there once again.

My friend recently gave me a journal and the quote on the front is:

"In the midst of our lives, we must find the magic that makes our souls soar" 

I think I've found that magic.... 

Downtown Parry Sound Marina

Parry Sound is made up of these rocks - so gorgeous

The train bridge

The seaplane ready for take-off

Letting reality sink in - this is our new home!

Anyways, I’m off to enjoy the rest of my vacation before I start my new job next Tuesday. Daniel and myself along with some friends are going to a country festival this Thursday-Monday (Boots and Hearts) and we cannot wait. Stay tuned for another post about that.

Until then.... 

Enjoy life!

Hang In There.. Baby

Gemma Correll - one of my favourite artists posted this drawing on her Facebook page the other day.

I've since then printed it, and hung it up in my cubicle. It is my motivation to get through busy season at work.

It's the little things in life, right?

What motivates you when you are in a stressful situation? How do you cope?

p.s. I highly urge you to follow Gemma on her FB page. If you are a cat/pug lover she will make you belly laugh on a regular basis.

Still Finding Balance..

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I have not disappeared! I'm still working on finding my balance and dealing with some minor wellness issues.

Please stay tuned for a post from me shortly.

In the meantime, let me leave you with these pug funnies...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is something about a pug that just makes me smile.

A Healthy Thanksgiving for Two

Hello readers, I hope you all had a great long weekend!

Mine was filled with many enjoyable fall activities. As mentioned in my last post, we went on a "haunted" hayride, enjoyed a nice scenic fall walk with the pugs and made a nice healthy dinner for two on the Thanksgiving Monday.

The pugs had fun on their walk and even posed for couple of photos:

The view was just breathtaking where we were. It made me remember why I love fall so much and why I must stop to enjoy the scenery a little more often.

After our walk, I went right back into my kitchen to make us this delightful meal:

 

Slow Roasted Crock pot Chicken

Garlic Ginger Butternut Squash

Raspberry and Goat Cheese Spinach Salad

Steamed Broccoli

Looks amazing doesn't it? It was such an easy meal to make too, and one that made the hubby go back for seconds. That's a home run in my opinion. I impressed myself as it was the first time in awhile I didn't work off of a recipe. Sometimes its fun to wing it!

Slow Roasted Crock pot Chicken

 

This chicken was tender, juicy and fall off the bone. Very simple to prepare too.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
2 small onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp Italian spices
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt

Cut up onions and garlic roughly and place in bottom of crock pot. Rub down chicken with the spice mixture and place in the crock pot on top of the onions and garlic. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the internal temperature is at 85 degrees.

Optional: Transfer contents of slow cooker into a roasting pan and broil in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp the skin.

Seriously, best.. chicken.. ever!

Garlic Ginger Butternut Squash

 

I think this is going to be a holiday staple in our home. It had a nice blend of sweet & sour and was a nice substitute for the normal potatoes.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash - peeled and cubed
4 cloves diced garlic
2 tbsp margarine
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup of raisins
1 cups of water
1 tsp all-spice
1 tbsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease large kitchenware dish with margarine. Have a pug watch you place all ingredients in dish. Place in oven and cook for 1 hour. Finish off with 2 minutes on broil to crisp up squash.

Lastly, the salad was a quick mixture of these items:

Spinach
Chopped strawberries
Dried cranberries
Sliced red onion
Crumbled goat cheese
Almond pieces
Raspberry dressing

It was a nice compliment to the meal, and is one salad my husband just loves.

Since it was a holiday we paired the meal with one fabulous wine; Flat Rock 2009 Unplugged Chardonnay. It was a crisp, dry chard that really paired well with the spice of the chicken.

  

I hope these recipes inspire you to try something new for your next holiday or big Sunday meal. They were simple and only required a few ingredients. Most importantly they were big on taste and low in calories compared to your typical holiday meal. 

This weekend I hope to get some baking done. Daniel has been wanting some bran muffins, so I want to come up with a low calorie hearty muffin for him. This week I continue with my marathon taper and will be doing an easy 16 km run on Saturday.

Have a great day!